Upset, June 2023

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Ashnikko

Hot Mulligan

The Acacia Strain

The Amity Affliction

Tokky Horror

Alex Lahey

Vukovi

Kids in Glass Houses

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D ISRUP T T H E N O IS E

+ loads more

The Used The Dirty Nil Bully

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M AY 2 02 3

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upsetmagazine.com

GHOST

G

Y’reet?

June 2023

Theatre has always been a big part of heavy music - and few bands do it as well as Ghost. With a brand new EP packed with covers, though, this time they're adding an extra special touch of flair. It's the kind of showmanship that has us delighted to finally get them on to the cover of Upset - and from the sounds of it, we should be expecting much more come 2024. Count us in.

RIOT! 4. Ashnikko 8. Hot Mulligan 12. The Acacia Strain 14. Slam Dunk 18. The Amity Affliction ABOUT TO BREAK 20. Tokky Horror FEATURES 22. Ghost 32. The Dirty Nil 36. Bully 40. Tigercub 44. The Used REVIEWS 48. Sleep Token TEENAGE KICKS 50. Alex Lahey

Stephen Ackroyd @stephenackroyd Editor

UPSET Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler

Scribblers Alexander Bradley, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Finlay Holden, Jack Press, Jamie MacMillan, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Melissa Darragh, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Andreia Lamos, Dayna Gilmore, Jodi Hartley, Sarah Louise Bennett, Tom Barnes PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM PO BOX 420, HASTINGS, TN34 9LZ

All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

THE MONTH IN ROCK

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→ "I LOVE TELLING VERY HUMAN STORIES IN A FANTASTICAL WORLD," says Ashnikko.

"Creating someplace to escape into is a big part of that."

The alternative musician has spent the past five years transporting people via bold creations, but their upcoming debut album takes that to the next level. Inspired by a short story she wrote, 'Weedkiller' takes place on a different planet, in the wreckage of a destroyed civilisation. The lead character is the sole surviving faerie. The enemy is the Weedkiller.

"I've put a lot into it," says Ash, still recovering from an ambitious Coachella performance that saw dance routines do battle with a 12ft tall robo-puppet. "I can't wait to take that show on the road in a less pressured environment."

She goes on to describe 'Weedkiller' as a visual endeavour as well as a musical one.

There are no plans to share the original short

story with the world, but she is working on a graphic novel. "I've always written narratives in my music, but this feels like an evolution."

The album features tracks reminiscent of their previous releases, but there are also many "different" songs on 'Weedkiller'," says Ash. "I try not to listen to other music when I'm writing and recording because you run the risk of sounding similar," she explains. It's hard to think of anyone making music quite like this.

Ashnikko "approached the album like we were scoring a film", pulling influence from fantasy novels, Studio Ghibli's fantasy epic Princess Mononoke, Japanese art film Angel's Egg and action role-playing game Horizon Zero Dawn. The result is something cohesive and surprising, beautiful and visceral.

'Weedkiller' is "kind of" a concept record, according to Ash. Songs like 'World Eater', 'Super Soaker', 'Possession Of A Weapon' and the title-track are very much in that realm, but other songs are "very sexual and very much about body autonomy. There are also very autobiographical stories from my childhood," they explain. Sonically, everything is part of the same world, and the concept really comes to life through the visuals.

That fantasy world is "definitely a lens through which I can write personal songs," says Ash. "There's a lot of catharsis on the album. It's me reclaiming my sense of self, stepping into my selfhood and growing as a person."

They go on to say that the Weedkiller represents a lot of different characters from her life. "It's me grieving over the natural world being decimated, it's me speaking to my

ASHNIKKO is finally about to release her debut album, and she's coming at it with fire.

Words: Ali Shutler.

Upset 5

abuser, it's me reclaiming my autonomy in my life." The hope is that others can confront their own demons through 'Weedkiller'.

Broadly speaking, the 'Weedkiller' era is already tackling themes of control and freedom. "I have OCD, so that makes sense," Ash explains. "I won't go into detail, but finding my spiritual, emotional and bodily autonomy was very important because it's not something I had growing up."

Ashnikko's world has always been driven by personality, and that still shines through on 'Weedkiller', despite the overarching narrative. "There's still humour on 'Weedkiller', but I'm telling different stories. I'm not taking myself any more seriously than I did before. I'm still an extremely silly guy in real life, and I think we're having a very silly human 6 Upset

experience right now. If you can't laugh at it, then what's the point?"

That self-deprecating humour is one of the reasons their music connects with so many people, but Ash has always said it's a defence mechanism. "I just laugh through trauma," they told NME back in 2020. For perhaps the first time, though, 'Weedkiller' features actual joy.

"There's so much rage and vengeance on the album, which is so much easier to channel than forgiveness and hope," they explain. "There's definitely a throughline of striking back against someone or something that is causing you extreme harm, but at the same time, I was trying to inject a feeling of hopefulness in there.

I wanted that sense that things can get better and be rebuilt."

Between the visual world and the actual music, 'Weedkiller' is an incredibly

ambitious project, with Ashnikko pouring a lot of herself into its creation. "There's always fear and panic over releasing a new album and seeing how people are going to react. I know that I'm basically touring for the next 365 days. Pray for me?"

Ashnikko says that touring is very hard. "It leaves you very unhealthy, both mentally and physically, but I'm so grateful that I get to travel the world and play my music. It's all I wanted to do when I was younger, and it's still my favourite part of the whole thing. I love that exchange of energy and live music's ritualistic element."

"My aspirations have definitely evolved since I was 18, though. Back then, I wanted to be a pop star. Now, I just want to be happy." Ashnikko's debut album 'Weedkiller' is out soon.

American "post emo" foursome HOT MULLIGAN serve up brutal honesty with a dose of humour.

Words: Jack Press.

HOT 8 Upset

STUFF Upset 9

INCE THE DAWN OF GREEN DAY AND BLINK-182, POP-PUNK HAS BEEN THE PERFECT SOUNDTRACK FOR KEG PARTIES AND PIZZA. But when you're so sad you can't take life seriously, what do you listen to? Enter Hot Mulligan, purveyors of the thinking person's pop-punk.

Just as likely to drop mics as they are bombs, Hot Mulligan specialise in making you laugh with song titles silly enough for shitposting before breaking your heart with their hardhitting life lessons. But the global pandemic didn't pepper their new album 'Why Would I Watch' with a level of honesty; it's always been there.

"I feel like I've always written very honestly, and some people credit me for it, but I don't understand how other people are writing with less honesty," ponders vocalist Nathan 'Tades' Sanville, from his lofty London hotel room, ahead of their UK tour. "It's such a natural feeling to just say whatever is actually on my mind and try not to poeticise it."

Having watched their 2020 breakthrough 'You'll Be Fine' land "just like a dead fish flopping on the land" during Covid, Tades joined by drummer Brandon Blakeley and guitarists Chris Freeman and Ryan Malicsi - found it all "just awkward", releasing a handful of EPs, singles, and acoustic volumes as a "complete distraction, because we were all so fucking bored."

While Hot Mulligan became a big name in deep space, they watched helplessly from the comfort of their own sofas. It wasn't 10 Upset

a creative reawakening; it simply "just sucked the whole time, no one had any fun." But they're not beyond accepting a life in lockdown helped raise their stock.

"It feels weird to say that Covid helped the album, but it did because what else were people doing? No one was at work, no one was at school, so what else are you going to do but sit, play video games, and listen to music, you know?

"I feel like it helped a lot of people digest it quickly; the songs we thought would be sleepers popped off just as well as the singles did. It's the singular one good thing to happen from the Covid-19 pandemic - I guess all of us learning that all our governments are incompetent was also a pretty welcome thing!"

Incompetent governments and prolonged pandemics took Tades down a path of discovery, one that ultimately led to 'Why Should I Watch' being born. "I wanted to buy a camera to record stuff and take pictures and videos, but I always have a lot of regret about how I conduct myself, and it keeps me up. It bothers me, and it really eats at me, so why would I want to have that? Why would I want to look back with nostalgia at something I'm ashamed of?"

The push and pull of past, present, and future took the vocalist down a Wonderland-sized rabbit hole. It's documented across a year's worth of songwriting on 'Why Should I Watch', beginning with 'No Shoes In The Coffee Shop (Or Socks)'. Exploring the weight memories carry, it begs the question, do we put too much stock in our past lives?

"Oh hell yeah, fucking absolutely," Tades laughs before digging below the surface. "We're so hard about our own actions. I know these feelings that I have are irrational, but that

PEOPLE SAY 'YOU HELPED', BUT THAT'S COMPLETELY A BYPRODUCT; I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING"

N AT H A N ' TA D E S ' SA N V I L L E doesn't stop the feeling from happening, just as it doesn't for most people with anxiety ever, you know?

"Almost all the stock that we put into that one time you fucked up five years ago is completely wasted as whoever you fucked up to, unless you really ruined something, doesn't care."

Like comedians shielding themselves from sadness with satire, Hot Mulligan's outrageous song titles 'Christ Alive My Toe Dammit Hurts', 'John "The Rock" Cena, Can You Smell What The Undertaker' - act as metaphors for the deepest cuts 'Why Should I Watch' infects.

The titles "rarely have anything to do with anything other than our little inside references and dumb jokes," because they simply aren't "serious enough as people to just be doom and gloom.

We're goofy and stupid and maybe also vehemently depressed." But they do represent the intersection between alt-comedy, depression, indifference, and shitposting - some of the album's key themes.

"Depression isn't the crying and the manic tears and falling apart at the seams," Tades offers. "For some people, it hits them as just pure sadness, I'm sure, but most other people who I've met who are going through it the same way all end up in some sort of stage of just deep indifference,

like learning how to shower without getting clean, you know?"

Tades sees indifference as "a great coping mechanism because how can you be sad if you don't care?" But that realisation came at a great cost: understanding where that intersection gets weird.

"Same thing where like everyone makes the 'I'll kill myself' jokes, and everyone chuckles along, but the seed of truth in that is it should be unsettling because it sucks, and it really sucks to feel like that, but we have our little shield of indifference and goofy little shit-posty garbage humour."

On 'Why Would I Watch', Hot Mulligan gift wrap their messages of mental health to a generation of fans most caught in the culture clash with three-minute emo-pop bangers. But Tades isn't looking to be the poster child of mental health awareness.

"No musician has that responsibility; thrusting that on an individual is massive," he sighs, sitting back and taking stock of it all. "At the end of the day, I have no solution either. People look to musicians and say, 'you saved my life', 'you helped in some way', but that's completely a byproduct; I don't know what I'm doing, I'm just writing songs that I think are catchy."

It's a harsh reality because we all hold certain

albums and artists in high regard, but at the end of the day, they're all just human beings, too. For Tades, he's "just an instrument of catharsis" who "realistically cannot help you unless you're using music to help yourself" - deep down, he's going through the same things too. "I didn't solve it either; it's why I'm writing about it. I didn't get over it; it still sucks."

While "the death of the author is insane" because "people think that I'm still writing songs about girls, and I haven't written a girl song in years and years and years," it's ultimately why so much of 'Why Should I Watch' is rooted in trips down memory lane; Tades is working through what's made him the man he is today. Closing track 'John "The Rock" Cena, Can You Smell What The Undertaker' is a prime example.

"I like writing songs that are against my Christian upbringing; that shit fucked me up, and it fucked a lot of people up, and having a song to express that is good, cause even now there's a bunch of backlash to the negativity bought upon people by bad Christianity, and finding your people in that space who were fucked by religion is important and good, cause there's a community."

Weirdly, community is what it all comes down to. It's what Hot Mulligan are building song by song, album by album, as poppunk's thinking man's band.

No matter your walk of life, you're welcome in their community.

"There's a bunch of people who know exactly what happened and how bad it sucked and how bad it still sucks. It's important because people need community, whether or not you want one, and that's a good one to have." ■ Hot Mulligan's album 'Why Would I Watch' is out now.

Upset 11

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE *TWO* NEW ALBUMS FROM...

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THE ACACIA STRAIN

RIOT!

With not one but TWO new albums - 'Step Into The Light' and 'Failure Will Follow' - vocalist Vincent Bennett explains everything we absolutely need to know.

→ We were more prepared than ever before for these records.

We knew exactly how we wanted these records to sound before we entered the studio. I personally had 30 demo tracks done before we even wrote together. We grabbed a few riffs from those demos here and there, but most of what we had was written in the studio between all of us and Randy Leboeuf, our producer.

Everybody had good ideas and they never stopped flowing.

→ We ate the same breakfast every day Randy turned us on to a spot near the studio called Fire Bagels, and we liked it so much that we made him pick it up on the way to the studio every morning. My go to breakfast was an Asiago bagel with Taylor ham, egg, and cheese.

I miss that shit. → We bought Randy a TV and a bidet When we got to the studio, a few comforts from home were missing, so we did what we could to fix that. We bought Randy a big ass TV, and a bidet so we could take dumps in luxury.

We proceeded to watch a lot of classic horror while writing. The Phantasm soundtrack was a huge influence on the theme of ‘Failure Will Follow’. → We made Randy smoke weed

using the power of the sun I’ve never smoked anything, but we made Randy smoke weed using a magnifying glass. We called it “taking a solar hit”. I also attempted to roll a joint for the boys and I was told it looked like “something a dad trying to relive his youth would roll”. I don’t know shit about that shit. → Mike mowed the lawn because he felt like it Mike Recon is an enigma. He might spend half the day on the toilet, he might get high and go to sleep, he might bust out some gnarly riffs, or he just might break out the riding mower from the shed and spend the next few hours making the studio lawn rival the look of New Jersey’s finest country clubs. You never know what you’re going to get. → Griffin and I played the intro to Step Into the Light The “live room” sound you hear at the beginning of ‘Flourishing’ was a snippet of Griffin [Landa, bass] and me jamming in the drum room. I’m playing drums and he’s on guitar. Kevin [Boutot, drums] had to step it up and start playing blast beats to keep up.

The Acacia Strain’s albums ‘Step Into The Light’ and ‘Failure Will Follow’ are out now.

Upset 13

Festival season is here, and that means one thing. We caught up with a few of our SLAM DUNK (South, 27th May; North, 28th May) faves to find out what they have planned.

Hello Noah! How's it going? What are you up to today?

I'm playing a show in LA today, and currently, I'm sat outside a sushi restaurant waiting for them to unlock the door.

You're about to play Slam Dunk - is this your first festival of the year, or are you already into the swing of things?

Slam Dunk will be my first festival of the year; it's coming shortly after my second US tour, so I'll definitely be in the swing of things, just not festival-wise.

How do you prepare for a summer of festivals? Do you have rigorous planning / practice / exercise schedules?

I really don't have any planning or schedule; I kinda just make sure I have my in ears and hope that everything goes to plan.

Have you already figured out your set? How's it looking?

Not yet, I have a new song coming out that I'm hoping to add to the set, but we haven't rehearsed it yet.

NOAHFINN

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MAGGIE

Is there anyone there you're particularly looking forward to seeing play or catching up with?

I'm super excited to see Enter Shikari again; the best part about touring with them was getting to watch their set every night.

What's your absolute favourite thing about festivals?

When it's an alternative festival like Slam Dunk, it's mostly just the vibe. I love that everybody grew up on the same music; there's always such a community feeling in comparison to other festivals.

What else are you working on at the moment?

I've been demoing a bunch to hopefully work towards my first album!

NCE

Hello Maggie! How's it going?

What are you up to today?

I'm good! I'm currently getting my nails done for Australia.

You're about to play Slam Dunk - is this your first festival of the year, or are you already into the swing of things?

It is my first of the year, and I'm very excited.

How do you prepare for a summer of festivals? Do you have rigorous planning / practice / exercise schedules?

Not really. I do like to workout to prepare in that way, but nothing too insane.

Have you already figured out your set? How's it looking?

I have not. But it's gonna be sick, I know that.

Is there anyone there you're particularly looking forward to seeing play or catching up with?

I have a couple friends performing, so that'll be fun! I'm excited to see Wargasm and Movements.

What's your absolute favourite thing about festivals?

Just the ambience and environment. Everyone's there for the same reason, and there's always just a great vibe about them.

What else are you working on at the moment?

Working on a new project. Been in the studio, and I am currently in the middle of my first headline tour, so I've been super busy with that.

Upset 15

KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES Hello, Aled! How's it going?

What are you up to today?

It's going very well, thank you.

I'm super busy getting ready for the shows. I'm currently designing our merch for it as well as a shit load of other stuff that needs to be done before the shows. It's a lot, but I'm gassed to be doing it.

You're about to play Slam Dunk - is this your first festival of the year, or are you already into the swing of things?

It is our ONLY festival of the year and our first show in 9 years, so we're about as far from "into the swing of things" as it's possible to be right now. What we lack in stage readiness, we make up for in excitement. We can't wait.

Have you already figured out your set? How's it looking?

Pretty much. It's a 'Smart Casual' anniversary show, so the majority of the set kinda decided itself for us. There are a few surprises in there, though, so we're just working out what those will be.

Is there anyone there you're particularly looking forward to seeing play or catching up with?

Totally and there are too many to list. I'm really looking forward to sharing the stage with Holding Absence, for sure. It's always great to see a Welsh band doing amazing things, and they're on fire at the moment. Enter Shikari, Creeper, ZAND, Boston Manor, Malevolence, Heriot, Higher Power... That feels like everyone.

Let's just go with everyone.

What else are you working on at the moment?

Just a lot of things I can't really talk about, to be honest. But rest assured, it's a really exciting time for us, and we all feel reenergised and privileged that we get to come back and play shows and celebrate a really important album for us with a bunch of mates. Watch this space.

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Hello Janine! How's it going? What are you up to today?

Today I am doing some work towards our next music video.

Have you already figured out your set?

How's it looking?

We're not here to fuck about. The Set has no room to come up for air.

You're about to play Slam Dunk - is this your first festival of the year, or are you already into the swing of things?

First festival of the year, and it's a big one. We're doing three small sweaty club shows running to it, so we'll be in good form come Slam Dunk.

Is there anyone there you're particularly looking forward to seeing play or catching up with?

The Main Stage is a pure mates fest; I'm looking forward to catching up with some cool, talented friends.

How do you prepare for a summer of festivals? Do you have rigorous planning / practice / exercise schedules?

Our tour manager does all the logistical planning, so we only need to worry about rehearsing the shit out the set and seeing what feels good.

What's your absolute favourite thing about festivals?

The energy of the crowd, there's a certain feralness to our festival sets. It's frightening how pumped the crowds get, and I love it.

What else are you working on at the moment?

New Music, new aesthetic.

TRACK x TRACK

→ Australian metalcore four-piece The Amity Affliction are back with their feature-packed new album ‘Not Without My Ghosts’, a record that sees them rope in a bunch of friends, from established names like Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld and The Plot in You’s Landon Tewers, to buzzy newcomer Phem.

The album “mostly deals with the paradox of not wanting to be alive, and yet needing to stay here, while also mourning the loss of friends and trying to use the music as catharsis,” vocalist Joel Birch explains. It’s an emotional ride.

Here, Joel talks us through the entire record from front to back.

18 Upset

SHOW ME YOUR GOD The song is the first in a series of explorations and internal meditations on how our past shapes us and interacts with our various mental struggles in the present, drawing from both personal experience and also the trauma of close friends who have passed away or who have dealt with close loved ones passing away.

IT’S HELL DOWN HERE This song is a letter from myself and Ahren, written by me to our friends who have passed on to the other side.

FADE AWAY This song is way more miserable than it appears; I remember writing it when I was honestly hoping for the bus to

crash or to not wake up the next day and wanted to leave a little remnant of myself behind, letting my wife know how I felt had nothing to do with her. Mental illness rules.

DEATH AND THE SETTING SUN (FEAT. ANDREW NEUFELD) This song references some biblical ideas about the setting sun representing us dying only to be reborn in the afterlife, like the sun rises again each day, as well as pulling from ‘Waiting For God’ and the idea of purgatory. Take from that what you will; it’s quite the mix of ideas to funnel into one track. It’s also a morbid and hopeless song about being completely stuck and thinking the only way out of here is to kill yourself. A really happy number. A bop.

NOT WITHOUT MY GHOSTS

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE (FEAT. LOUIE KNUXX) The ongoing and nebulous struggle that comes with dealing with the pain of friends killing themselves while myself dealing with passive suicidal ideation. Not sure you need more than that; it sums it up.

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS (FEAT. LANDON TEWERS) I wrote this song for really angry people, and I hope they get really angry to it and smash some walls or something.

Go, Kyle.

THE BIG SLEEP This song has one of the saddest lines I think I’ve ever written: While we’re here, can we ever be free? Off to the

stars for me; I just want to believe. I really, really dislike religion, but there is something romantic about the desire to ascend from Earth into some other realm. Sometimes in the depths of a depressive episode, I just want to believe that there is something better beyond what I know, even though every part of me believes that when we die, that’s the end.

CLOSE TO ME I feel like I destroy everything around me; I’m sure a great deal of people out there who suffer from depression or bipolar or anxiety or any other number of mental illnesses understands this song well.

GOD VOICE Another cheery song about wanting

to be gone from this world. I call it the God Voice mockingly because I grew up being told we had to listen to God speaking to us, and all I ever heard was a voice telling me to exit stage left.

NOT WITHOUT MY GHOSTS (FEAT. PHEM) A song about the way in which you can’t travel through life without dragging the ghosts of your past behind you and how they manifest in their various forms.

The Amity Affliction’s album ‘Not Without My Ghosts’ is out now.

Upset 19

THE BEST NEW TALENT.

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With a new EP, 'KAPPACORE', out via Venn Records, and a packed summer touring, it's a busy time for TOKKY HORROR. From the van on the way to their last show of the Enter Shikari tour, the group team up to introduce their band.

Words: Sam Taylor. Photos: Jodi Hartley.

Hi, everyone. Tell us about your band - who are you all, and what are your roles within the group?

It's Mol and Ava on the double vocal duty, Drian on guitar, Zee on bass and electronics and Hendri on drums and samples. The beats are written by Zee and now more with Hendri after they joined the band a few months ago, with lyric duty shared between Zee, Mol and Ava. Mol is the muscle.

If Tokky Horror had a mission statement, what would it be?

I [Zee] think we just want to cause a little chaos and have a little fun. We don't take anything seriously. It's about approaching your music authentically and honestly.

We just want to write songs that grab you and also become rich and famous.

You have a new EP on the way; what's it about? How did it come together?

Like everything Tokky, it's proper cobbled together.

There are tracks like 'Tranmere Raver' we've been playing for years, which outdates our earliest released material and then 'Toilet', which was only written and recorded this year.

What do you most like writing songs about? Are there any themes or vibes you're particularly drawn to?

I don't think we have themes; the first track on the EP is about looking after your

WE JUST WANT TO CAUSE A LITTLE CHAOS AND HAVE A LITTLE FUN" mates, the second track is about consent, the third song is about jazz music, and 'Tranmere Raver' is about Paul O Grady.

You've loads of gigs coming up, too; what are you most looking forward to?

Festival season, in general.

It's where our energy can be its most chaotic and fully embraced. 7pm first on in Stoke on a Tuesday isn't always the right spot for us, we'll play anywhere with anyone, but 1am on a big sound system in a field somewhere is our native territory.

You've mentioned you're going off to record your debut album soon - is it all written? Do you have it all planned out?

Yeah, it's pretty much written; it's going to take some time to turn it from the written songs to finished record. If it was a building, we'd be saying we have the blueprints but haven't built it yet. I don't really plan anything; I just

write songs constantly until we have enough to release.

What key elements make for a good debut album do you think?

It should be your manifesto.

This is us; this is what we're all about. It doesn't have to be where you end up, and you can grow from it. But it should capture your personality and energy. A great example is Bleach by Nirvana; not their finest songwriting, but the raw elements were all there.

Music aside, what do you lot do for fun?

Zee and Mol are both big in karate and have been doing a few tournaments recently.

They always like to have a fight before we go onstage.

Is there anything else we should know?

Tokky Horror, despite how many people seem to think so, have no relation or correlation to Tokyo Hotel.

Tokky Horror's EP 'KAPPACORE' is out now.

Upset 21

COVER From his early days of deconstructing and rebuilding classic songs to his ongoing obsession with learning and absorbing new techniques, as they prepare to drop new covers EP ' Phantomime', GHOST's leader Tobias Forge sees each new track as a fresh puzzle to be solved.

Words: Steven Loftin.

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STORY Upset 23

IKE AN APPARITION MANIFESTING WITHIN A DENSE FOG, IT WAS THROUGH RADIO STATIC THAT SWEDISH ROCKERS GHOST WERE FORMED. In the kindergarten he attended as a young boy, Tobias Forge found himself enamoured with the music crackling through the little toy speakers. From this point forward, he began picking apart the notes and melodies - his journey toward the lore and canon coming into focus as he sat, trying to figure out how this black magic could be summoned.

While it would be many years before he would don his garb as Papa Emeritus, the essence of what his future would sound like was being set through his exposure to a wide variety of music. If any proof were needed, just look to the impressive list of covers Ghost have put their ghastly mark upon, including 2016’s ‘Popestar’ EP, which included the band’s takes on Echo & The Bunnymen (‘Nocturnal Me’) and Simian Mobile Disco (‘I Believe’).

Ghost’s latest EP is another covers bonanza. A five-piece offering of Tobias’s backstory, ‘Phantomime’ plays out like a Greatest Hits radio playlist - a fitting throwback to Tobias’ first dalliances with music. Of course, when a group more aligned to the metal/hard rock community bust out covers, including Genesis and Tina Turner, eyebrows are raised. To this reaction, Tobias scoffs. “In 1991, Genesis was one of the biggest bands on the planet! That was a huge hit. In the mid-80s, when I had an older teenage brother who rented every VHS movie that came out, of course, we saw the fucking Thunderdome, and that was a huge hit, and it’s still being played on Swedish radio. It’s an evergreen; it’s not an eclectic choice at all,” he declares. “I grew up listening to Stranglers because my brother liked them. What else do we have, Iron Maiden - I mean, are you kidding? I’m a metalhead!”

Originally conceived during the sessions for their fifth album, last year’s ‘Impera’, there were two folders on his computer’s desktop: one named ‘Impera’, the other simply ‘Covers’. As the ideas for ‘Impera’ grew, Tobias would enter his usual routine of working on a cover or two. “At any point, when you lose a little wind in writing your own things, it’s quite nice to say, ‘Today let’s go in and work on the covers’; you can choose anything you want, you can work on absolutely anything you want. And you don’t have to finish it, you don’t have to release it, you don’t have to do anything, but just continue working.”

He likens it to the freedom of being a theatre owner who, instead of trying to pen the next greatest Broadway phenomenon, opts to have a go at something already timeless and perfected.

AS I WAS WRITING ‘IMPERA’, THE COVERS FOLDER WAS ALSO GROWING EXPONENTIALLY"

TO B I AS F O R G E 24 Upset

“Maybe you’re like, ‘Okay, so this fall we’re just going to do a reinterpretation of Hamlet instead, that’s going to be fine, and that keeps everyone working, and that keeps a project moving along’.

And I find a similar thing with working on covers. So as I was writing ‘Impera’, the covers folder was also growing exponentially and at a point, I had this idea that was going to be a full-length album.”

With COVID restrictions meaning the original producer for ‘Impera’ was stuck in the US, Tobias had to source a replacement. It would be Klas Åhlund who stepped up to the plate. But, on one condition.

“He was pretty upfront. He was like, ‘Yeah, I only want to make the record; I don’t want to work on covers’,” Tobias remembers.

“Fine, fine, fine, that’s fine,” he shrugs. “So, after the ‘Impera’ recording was done, I felt as if making a completely different, whole record again; I didn’t have time for that. I didn’t have the energy for that. But once I trimmed down the number of songs to only these five to make a very rocky record, it loosened up the screws a little bit for me in terms of like, ‘Okay, so now I know what the EP is going to be’ - it’s going to be a full, full-throttle rock one.”

Ditching some rumoured softer covers, including U2, Misfits, and Motörhead, ‘Phantomime’ is instead a delectable slice of Ghost doing what Ghost do best: creating theatrically big rock.

It’s Tobias’s mark upon some bonafide classics, including Iron Maiden’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ which feels as befitting to Ghost as it does seeing Papa Emeritus kick the bucket ready for his next iteration. While the focus was on creating this small dose of Tobias’s musical DNA, it also served another purpose; to simply be “not very complicated.” The project began with the mindset of “we can make this recording loosely - quick but stress-free - as opposed to making a record, which is your hard fifth record that needs to live up to certain

standards. So it was just a very inspired, very simple recording, actually.”

After the complexities of ‘Impera’ - which wound up requiring two studios simultaneously running in parallel “to be able to work efficiently” - Ghost was morphing into a taxing experience for the band leader.

“It was just a bigger thing, [and] way more stressful.”

Deciding to strip that covers folder down to the five tracks, by all accounts, ‘Phantomime’ was a measured and reserved effort. “It ended up being me, an engineer, and an occasional musician coming in and doing something. It was so much looser, so much more mentally Feng Shui,” he smiles, relief glowing in his voice. “And I think that that reflected a little bit on the two different records.

They’re meant to be related - they are definitely related - they were made roughly in the same time, but they’re completely different things.”

‘Phantomime’ plays out like a ghoulish social commentary.

Starting with a searing rendition of Televison’s ‘See No Evil’, the journey traverses the scourge of Televangelism (Genesis’ ‘Jesus He Knows Me’) with a delightfully-fitting NSFW video, the instant gratification humans require to feel (The Stranglers' ‘Hanging Around’); the pull back into cruel reality (‘Phantom Of The Opera’); and the resulting undying hope from a degraded society (Tina Turner’s ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’). Each offering is bolstered with Ghost’s dramatic, theatric rock licks and Tobias’s powerhouse vocals.

With ‘Phantomime’ in the bag and the European leg of the ‘Impera’ tour imminent (Tobias is currently holed up in preparation), the idea of reflecting on how he came to go from a young boy listening to the static sounds of pop hits on the radio to orchestrating not only a feverishly adored band and its lore but finding the capacity to embrace his inner music nerd, couldn’t be Upset 25

SO WHICH ARE THE BEST GHOST COVER VERSIONS, EH? METALLICA - ENTER SANDMAN A cover that does what Tobias does best and strips things down to build them back up again. Ghost’s take on the Metallica classic packs as much punch as it does heart and soul, with Tobias’s vocals bringing new meaning to its haunting lyrics.

THE ROLLING STONES SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL As yet unreleased but widely available on YouTube, Tobias’s solo cover of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ (still as Papa Emeritus, obviously) showcases the man’s unrelenting range. Performed with the help of Swedish garage rockers The Hellacopters, it turns the classic track into a brooding explosion of swagger and style.

ROKY ERICKSON - IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS A calling card from Ghost’s debut EP, it set the scene for their eventual domination perfectly.

Romanticising the band’s ambition and showcasing their ability to carve the delicate psychedelia into a determined melodic cut, it’s a grand statement bolstered by one Dave Grohl on guitar.

PET SHOP BOYS - IT’S A SIN A glorious homage to Pet Shop Boys’ greatest hit, originally released as a bonus with deluxe versions of 2018’s Prequelle, there’s nay a cobweb the buoyant bombast and soldiering rhythm can’t blow away as Tobias imprints his mark upon this classic.

THE STRANGLERS - HANGING AROUND While ‘Jesus He Knows Me’ was the leading single, it’s Ghost's cover of this Stranglers classic that proves Tobias’s musical translations - this time from post-punk to soaring rock glory - can retain the original focus and feeling while celebrating that what Ghost does best - evoking a haunting emotion.

26 Upset

more timely.

Tobias’s relationship with music has always been one of intrigue. He’s a pop songwriter with the ambition and ideas of a stadium rock band, which, in essence, explains perfectly why Ghost can sit in a unique, exponentially growing and expanding space.

“My earliest inclination of wanting to transform into something else was definitely Twisted Sister,” he recalls.

“You know, ‘I Want To Rock’ and ‘We’re Not Going To Take It’ - that was a huge record in 1984, and in 1984, I was three years old,” he says. “My brother was 16, so everything that was going on pop-culturally amongst teenagers was happening in my home.”

It was thanks to his brother that much of Tobias’s relationship with music was formed. He’s introduced him to various giants of the time, like tectonic

WORKING ON COVERS CAN BE EUPHORIC; IT’S FUN TO UNDERSTAND A SONG"

TO B I AS F O R G E

plates being pushed around, impacting and shaping his musical landscape.

Translating for young Tobias the attitude of punk at the time, as well as everything else that was ‘in’, he remembers, “When I was a kid, and he was supposed to babysit me, as a pacifier he would put me in front of [Sex Pistols mockumentary film] ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’,” he laughs. “And then when that was over, he would just switch to [X-rated

cartoon] Fritz the Cat. And I loved that stuff, of course. That was as much [about] the expression and the attitude.

Of course, I loved the songs, but it was also filtered or combined with big songs for me.” Those big songs (“Men At Work ‘Down Under’,” he initially cites, “those sort of songs still have a unique place in my in my writing”) would eventually entwine with his darker side that he’d explore as he grew older. “Whilst my

whole adolescence was completely in the name of extreme metal, I always had a very soft spot for Top 40 rock and pop radio always,” Tobias explains. “And I’ve listened to that all my life. So it’s almost equal portions of Venom as it is anything that was on the radio.”

Also, witnessing shock and glamrock bands explode intrigued Tobias.

He became swept away in the idea that not only could you push a boundary to its absolute limits with convictions and over-the-top grandiosity, but you could do so with songs that quantifiably bop.

But, as time has gone onto prove, it wasn’t pop music that enamoured Tobias enough that he wanted to become a pop star. It’s the mythology and mystery that has become his calling card.

Tobias remained an enigma under the disguise of an evolving form of the iconic Papa Emeritus (now in his fifth incarnation) until 2017, after a lawsuit from a previous iteration of his backing band’s rotating cast, the Nameless Ghouls. Visual and video components to releases are often hoovered up by the fandom, stripped apart for meaning and potential. Instagram posts are referred to as a ‘[Message From The Clergy]’ (a phrase later claimed for 2022’s Best Of playlist), and lest it is forgotten, the Ghost ‘Grucifix’ - the prominent crucifix deconstructed into Tobias’s gothic ‘G’ logo - which ties together the vision, religious imagery and satire that would become a core part of the Ghost experience.

His musical ambition and education colliding in the middle of his Venn diagram between dark metal and pop magic is thanks to the likes of the aforementioned Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P., as well as his teen years in the black metal community. “Their first record was also a huge impact Upset 27

28 Upset

I’M SLOWLY PREPARING FOR MAKING A NEW RECORD THAT’S GOING TO COME OUT IN 2024”

TO B I AS F O R G E in Swedish media,” Tobias remembers. “There was this big sort of Satanic panic thing going on at the time in the fall of 1984. Where you had essentially all those things happening. You had Mötley Crüe ‘Shout At The Devil’, which came out a year earlier, and they were there because they toured with Iron Maiden in 1984, so there was a lot of focus on these shock-rock bands. I saw that as a kid, and I was immediately blown away - it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. And I think that that was the trigger that made me identify as that is how I want to express myself.”

Decoding the songs he’d hear also became an integral part of that expression. “That was the only thing I did for years before I started writing my own songs.” Recalling his time in kindergarten, they had a piano and guitar, which Tobias became infatuated with. Instead of playing with the other students, he would find himself enraptured, listening to the radio or flipping over whichever cassette happened to be loaded at the time. He would then imitate the sounds he was soaking up. “A lot of those early beginnings of how to learn and how I’ve learned how to understand music filters through everything I do now,” he explains.

The early records he’d find himself trying to unpack included KISS ‘Alive’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ - disparate matches, but undoubtedly Ghost fuel with hard rock melodies and psychedelic tendencies. “I had the first and the second

Pink Floyd on a double LP that was called ‘A Nice Pair’.

And that’s the shit that I sat and listened to and played guitar to,” he says proudly.

“That’s weird music, that’s really weird chord sequences and melodies that sort of went nowhere. And, that coloured me a lot in my vision of this is how you write a pop song. Of course, I knew more conventional writing as well. But I figured that this resonates with me, and I want to write more like that.”

Tobias is the first to admit that the influence his musical exposure has had on him isn’t the most straightforward.

“For all the years that I was in bands, up until Ghost, basically when I was in bands not doing well, I got a lot of, I wouldn’t say stick, but it was always like, ‘You write weird songs, there’s something weird about them, and it will never really become anything because it has that sort of weirdness to it’.”

As he grew, the songs he’d heard reflected this inherent strangeness he’d constructed.

Before the days of mass formulaic pop factories, the music emanating from the radio abided by the strictest rule of needing to at least be approachable, but within these confines, artists of the 70s and 80s would push the envelope as far as they could.

Citing Nik Kershaw’s ‘The Riddle’ as one example, “Holy shit, if you would have taken that song and taken it to a chord structure masterclass amongst pop writers now who want to write songs for Miley Cyrus or The Weeknd or any of that sort of level they

would say, no, no, no, no, that this will never work. It’s too strange. It’s too weird. You can’t do that; it doesn’t have the normal chord progression.

“There are a lot of songs from the 80s that are like that,” he reckons, “compared to the now, more informative way of writing, the 80s was braver actually, and it worked well. And those songs are evergreens in a way that a lot of the top radio shit from seven years ago is forgotten, and that’s the stuff that I grew up with when I started playing the guitar.”

Having made that inner sanctum, he would enter kindergarten a reality, one where he can explore those recesses of his mind shaken by the musical earthquakes he experienced; now, he’s matured and deeply entrenched in the reality.

“Throughout the modern day of pop writing, I know a few professional pop songwriters, and we continue having these conversations because in pop,” he says, “where some of them work prolifically on really high releases, they’re like, it’s strange how the business wants everything to be so informative. Everybody wants a weird song, but still, all the big songs are usually very, very formatted [and] very, very simple.”

While unpacking the songs he’d heard back in the 80s offered Tobias a chance to comprehend what makes a good song, it, more importantly, helped him to set out doing it on his own.

When digging into crafting a new Ghost number, Tobias explains that “each new

song is a little bit like virgin territory with its own riddle to be solved, and is always a combination of the horror of maybe not solving the puzzle, with the thrill when you do.

And it’s never easy because each new song needs something new. And so you constantly need to feed your ability with knowledge about how other things are.”

Breaking it down into a figurative example, he likens it to being like a detective. “I’m assuming that part of being a great detective is to constantly have an open mind, but also constantly learning about human behaviour and what people do. If you just had 100 forensic classes, but you know nothing about people and how they live their lives, it’s gonna be hard to solve crimes.” The same rings true for writers who have to read to improve and further understand language, while comedians pull from reallife experiences - music is no different. Tobias’s early days of stripping down songs to their basic parts and then rebuilding them have remained a constant endeavour. “But that’s how you write songs as well; you go and absorb new things.”

The covers process, as mentioned, is a release for Tobias. When things are stuck when trying to piece together a new chapter for the Ghost bible, a cover offers up a chance for something lighter. “Working on covers can be equally euphoric,” he confirms, “because it’s fun to understand a song whereas, on the other hand, it can be almost demoralising because you’re like, I can’t believe that this song is so much better than anything that I’ve written! And it’s so much easier. It’s so simple.

“I find myself overcomplicating things often, but you might not hear the complicated detour that I took to end up at the more understandable, straighter version that ended up being the actual recording,” he Upset 29

WHILST MY WHOLE ADOLESCENCE WAS IN THE NAME OF EXTREME METAL, I ALWAYS HAD A SOFT SPOT FOR TOP 40 ROCK AND POP”

TO B I AS F O R G E continues. “That’s a neverending struggle because that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s not like you write the one song. I don’t think I know anyone or know of anyone who’s content with the idea of having written one huge song. And then you know, okay, that’s nirvana for you.

You don’t write the one song the same way that if you’re a comedian, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I just told the funniest joke. So now I’m done’.”

While Tobias is one for wanting to keep the ball rolling and on a constant endeavour to continue his musical evolution, he knows there’s a limit. Every release of Ghost must have a purpose.

Nodding to the 60s method of firing singles out on all fronts, eventually compiling them for a full-length release, Tobias acknowledges his relationship with his fans is based on a more long-term understanding. “That’s not how we do things; we make an album, and off of that album, there are singles - it’s a 70s/80s thinking. And I don’t want to refrain from that - I don’t want too many singles to be these autonomous little creatures.”

But the world is different now. It’s a Wild West where being in the masses’ consciousness is key, so things may have to change for him. Admitting that right now, he knows he’s postrelease of Ghost’s last canon 30 Upset

entry, ‘Impera’, which arrived back in 2022, and while ‘Phantomime’ is a reasonable enough bridge, sooner or later, he’s going to have to play the game of ensuring Ghost ramp up. Earlier this year, Ghost collaborated with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott on a re-release of ‘Impera’ cut ‘Spillways’ which, while a fantastic addition to their arsenal, adds to the same notion Tobias is fearful of. “I’m slowly preparing for making a new record that’s going to come out in 2024, which is way too long for the current contemporary music climate; you need to be ever-present,” the last phrase hanging in the air ominously.

That doesn’t mean he has to lower his standards, however. No Ghost release will exist just for content’s sake. Everything must have its place. He even reckons a 14-track album is “a lot of music”, and he still sees an album as being “22 minutes of music per side” - true to form, currently, no standard issue of any Ghost album breaches 12 tracks. He’s even ready to aim for the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles by swiftly lobbing a couple of spicy takes out. “Look, man, I don’t even think that ‘Exile on Main Street’ is that good. Not even the fucking White album is that great - break it up!

Both of those records would have been better if they were trimmed down to singular

records.”

That pop mind breaking through; Tobias is someone who knows that music is entertainment. Certainly, a medium which often leads to more bulky connotations, but it must entertain. It’s why he doesn’t pay any mind to those naysayers that yearn for Ghost to be more metal or to follow a different path. This is Tobias’s game; we’re just privy to the sermon.

These days the floodgates are open and, when compared to previous decades, as Tobias remembers it, “you had to buy your own records.

Whatever additional music you got, that wasn’t maybe heard on the TV or the radio, when you took something from someone else, was usually a choice, so music styles could in some way be a little bit more insular back then just because you weren’t subjected to as much.”

He mentions his beloved death metal as being a signifier of the changes happening. “Back in the day, when I was starting listening to extreme metal, that was completely embraced by a certain little subculture or group of mostly teenagers and 20-somethings. Whereas in the 2000s, when Vice started doing black metal reporting, all of a sudden you have indie personalities who were fans of Darkthrone, and so, obviously, what ended up that turned into this fusion,

which was a positive and very natural thing.”

This cultural shift is another reason Ghost’s space is widening and its success growing. “Nowadays, people are a little bit more open,” he admits. But, with this comes issues. “As time has progressed, metal and hard rock, as well as most genres that have been around for a while, [they’ve] gone from this youth culture to a conservative institution because so many of the fans are now aged.”

The passage of time waits for no one. But, more presciently for culture, it also means our understanding of what is ‘good’ and what should be where is moulded differently to when we were younger. “Unfortunately, that happens to most people regardless of who you were when you were 20,” Tobias reckons, “or your ideals when you’re like 40/50/60 years old. Your brain starts morphing into a slightly more conservative, slightly more nostalgic… You don’t want things to change.”

Tobias is the first to hold his hands up and admit the same has happened to him.

He yearns for 1984 and even 1990-94. He would even be happy with 1987, back to those days with the crackling radio and a childlike spirit.

“That would be so much cooler. I loved that way more than in this day and age. But I can’t sit around and mope about that because it’s not a problem that it’s not 1987.”

‘Phantomime’ is proof nostalgia can be a useful tool. It fuels with passion, and Ghost is Tobias’s Neverland.

“There’s such a debate about what we are and why that is.”

Ghost are a band that, thanks to Tobias’s musical education, transcend time. They exist on their own plain and with the evergreen, timeless sounds of yesteryear echoing around Tobias’s head, long may Papa reign with his gloved melodic iron fist. ■ Ghost’s EP ‘Phantomime’ is out 18th May.

Upset 31

"THAT ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, EH?" YES, THE WORDS OF ONE ALEX TURNER, but more appropriately, this sentiment and its swaggering might should be stitched upon The Dirty Nil. Few cause guitar strings to cower in fear at their righteous chords more than the trio, but for a while, things weren’t all peachy in the Nil camp.

2021’s ‘Fuck Art’, on the surface, was a glorious riot. Stampeding through all that is good and great about The Dirty Nil, it housed singalong choruses and riffs aplenty.

But in the background, the Canadian trio were compromising more than they’d care to admit.

“I really had a great time marketing it and putting it out,” guitarist and vocalist Luke Bentham recalls. “But I think that we were at the absolute height of being influenced by our team at the time to try and go a little further in this direction or to pander to radio.”

32 Upset

Not an overly aspirational method of music making, it didn’t quite sit right with Luke and his cohorts, Kyle Fisher (drums) and Sam Tomlinson (bass). “My philosophy on things is probably similar to most people in my position, which is, ‘Well, how about you go fuck off, and we’ll make whatever we want to make?’” he shrugs. “But let us make what we want to make, and then we’ll go from there.”

None of this is to say they were unhappy with - the now ironicallytitled - ‘Fuck Art’. It just found them bending in ways that were more than uncomfortable. Recalling the first single, ‘Done With Drugs’, Luke mentions it was his least favourite from the whole batch. “But it got immediately marked as, ‘Oh, this is gonna be the first US radio single’, and so there was all this pressure of trying to deliver on this song and massage it and make it a bit more

THE DIRTY NIL's new album 'Free Rein To Passions' is the sound of a band operating on their own terms.

Words: Steven Loftin.

Upset 33

Hi-Fi. We turned that song around, and then I got left alone and finished the rest of the album without any kind of interference, but that song became the sacrificial lamb for the rest of the album.”

Burning down the house to build it back up again, the Nil cleared their team and set to work on crafting album four. “It was by far one of the most fun albums we’ve made because we basically only sought out to satisfy ourselves with it,” says Luke. “Which is the ideal goal any time you’re making anything. And so we incinerated our old apparatus and rebuilt it around basically working with a new team under the philosophy of we’re just going to do what we’re going to do.

And if that’s cool with you, then let’s work together. But if you’re going to try and get us to do a bunch of bullshit, then it’s not going to go well.”

Thankfully, things did go well, and the Nil are riding high again. ‘Free Rein To Passions’ embraces its titular idea. It’s the trio unleashed once more.

Ferocious guitars scream, wild drums embattle, while a bassline hunkers it all down, and it also features some of Luke’s post-vibes thinking to boot, which haven’t been sullied by the last few years’ experiences.

“A lot of the time I’m just trying to pep myself up with my own lyrics,” he explains. “I definitely want to try and be some kind of positive beacon, if possible, with my very modest platform. I do try and be somewhat of a force of good - chaotic good - but good nonetheless.”

“It’s so easy to look at all the bad shit. I love music that’s incredibly negative and brutal, but what generally guides me as a writer is trying to make myself laugh or trying to make my band laugh with lyrics.” He continues, “I get a certain feeling when I’m able to convey something positive that I don’t get when I’m just complaining, so that’s the side that I try and lean into - though there are definitely a lot of really negative complaining songs on all the albums!”

There’s a conversation to be had around the success of The Dirty Nil. They’re a band who exist in their own space and have a hell of time doing it.

While this is well and good, the metrics they found themselves weighing up against with ‘Fuck Art’ are indeed measures of, well, success. Recalling a chat he had with Weezer’s manager, the reality became bleakly freeing for Luke after mentioning his band had cracked 34 Upset

I DO TRY AND BE SOMEWHAT OF A FORCE OF GOOD - CHAOTIC GOOD"

LUKE BENTHAM the Top 30. “He said that’s really cool, but not to burst your bubble; it doesn’t fucking matter at all unless you go Top 3.” With that in mind, what does success look like for The Dirty Nil? “I have a pretty low bar for success,” Luke admits. “But my definition of success is writing whatever songs I want, and having fun doing it with my friends and making the records that we want to make, and doing the tours that we want to do and not being ever told what to do.” As if the sentiment weren’t enough, hung pride of place in Luke’s home studio is a large Jolly Roger flag.

“That’s why we got into the pirate’s life,” he says, gesturing up towards it, “to be not told what to do. Autonomy over the music and over what we do is pretty sacrosanct to me. And so that’s success - and being able to earn a living doing it. It really doesn’t get much better than that.”

Luke’s view on the whole rock’n’roll swindle is influenced by something his mum told him. “When I was a kid, I was bummed about something to do with the band early on, some early disappointment, and she just said, ‘You’re all just little guys on your rock’n’roll journey, and you just gotta take it as it comes and keep moving forward’.

“I was talking to my uncle the other day, and he’s pressing his first 7” ever,” Luke continues, “and he’s almost seventy years old. He’s just another little guy on his rock’n’roll journey. We’re all just little people on a rock’n’roll journey.” When it all boils down, there really is no difference between Luke and the Nil, or his uncle, or even bands such as The Who or Foo Fighters - two landmark bands they’ve supported. It’s all the same journey, just different destinations.

The Dirty Nil’s path began when they were teenagers. “I still remember walking around Kyle’s parent’s subdivision in the suburb that we grew up in and being like, this is what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to just make our own band and do whatever we want and make the music that we want.

And people might not like it. But eventually, people probably will.

And we will get a following.” This Wayne’s World nod soon became true. They built it, and people did indeed come. But it was always under the explicit instruction of “we just need to not listen to what other people say. And it’s funny because I starkly remember saying that to Kyle and him agreeing, and we were completely thrilled. That’s the same mantra that we charge forward with to this day.”

Being laser-focused on achieving the rock’n’roll dream has its pitfalls, however. “It’s very easy to get lost in our own little world as a band of focusing on the things that we’re working on and the frustrations involved with trying to make the best thing possible that we’re happy with,” Luke admits. “It certainly is a way of blinding you to what your band means to other people. I mean, I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t give a shit what people thought about our music. I do some art just for myself that I don’t show anyone in the world, and make songs on my laptop just for my own amusement. But it’s a special thing to have music that you’ve made with your friends resonate with other people. It’s a thrill that does not get old.”

With things back in their rightful place, the future is The Dirty Nil’s. But not before Luke airs a few more grievances with the music complex at large. “The whole music industry, as it exists now, is just a crazy complicated matrix. I’m wary of anybody that tells me that they know a path through to success. You’ve just got to take the best swings that you can and keep moving forward and make lots of art, and stand behind it…and then you’re dead!”

He chuckles heartily. “So, who cares?!” ■ The Dirty Nil’s album ‘Free Rein to Passions’ is out 26th May. Upset 35

FEELIN’ 36 Upset

Alicia Bognanno's BULLY have always been a little bit special, but with her new album 'Lucky For You', she's hitting a whole new level.

Words: Linsey Teggert.

LUCKY, Upset 37

LICIA BOGNANNO IS KNOWN FOR LAYING EVERYTHING OUT ON THE TABLE when it comes to her musical project, Bully. When it comes to raw, searing honesty, her fourth album, ‘Lucky For You’, is perhaps her most candid yet, and it’s all the more triumphant for it.

Much like on record, Alicia is endearingly open when speaking about where she finds herself ahead of the release of ‘Lucky For You.’ “I’m very overwhelmed right now,” she laughs before pausing and adding, “but in a really good way.”

Bully’s previous record, ‘Sugaregg’, released in 2020, was officially her first solo release, having parted ways with her former band members. It also found her speaking frankly about her mental health issues on record for the first time after being diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder.

Moving on to her fourth album, Alicia knew it was important to work with someone who valued authenticity as much as she did, so she paired up with producer J.T. Daly, who’s Nashville studio is conveniently close to her own Nashville home. After an initial few days together in the studio to “feel it out and see if we were a good fit,” ‘Lucky For You’ ended up being created over a seven-month period, with Alicia dealing with life-changing events over the course of the process.

“I had no idea it was going to take that long,” she explains. “None of it was intentional, and I was so stressed at first because in the past, I’d go into the studio for two and a half weeks, and the whole thing would be done. We had to take breaks and work around my touring schedule and J.T.’s schedule, but in that time, I ended up with so many new songs that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. There was so much room for life events to happen that inspired a lot of songs on the record.”

One of the major life events that happened and became a huge inspiration for the record was the loss of Alicia’s dog Mezzi, her best friend of thirteen years. “Mezzi travelled with me and recorded with me - I’d write, and she’d be next to me. She was fully an extension of me.”

The passing of Mezzi left her in a state of flux, wondering how to cope with losing the friend who’d been by her side every day. Tracks such as ‘Days Move Slow’ and ‘A Wonderful Life’ were born through this attempt 38 Upset

IT’S A VERY EYEOPENING PROCESS TO LEARN LIFE OVER AGAIN WITHOUT DRINKING"

ALICIA BOGNANNO to move through the grief and are some of the most heart-wrenchingly irresistible tracks Alicia has ever created. The former, ‘Days Move Slow’, is a slice of punchy, 90s-esque alt-pop that fizzes with a restless energy as Alicia contemplates whether there is an afterlife.

‘A Wonderful Life’ is slower and cinematic, swelling with emotion as Alicia’s signature yowl roams between heartbreak and hope. Reader, try and listen to this track without bawling your eyes out.

“I was crying while I was practising ‘A Wonderful Life’ yesterday,” Alicia admits. “That song is the saddest one to me, everything in it is exactly what I was going through, even just staring at the window and contemplating some sort of afterlife. All of those things are so true to the situation that that one just fucks me up. I think it will continue to, but it just makes it that much more meaningful to me.”

Another major milestone explored in ‘Lucky For You’ is Alicia’s journey to sobriety, as explored in passionate opener ‘All I Do’ which sees her roaring “I’ll never get fucked up again.”

“When you stop drinking, as far as realising who your real friends are, everything really comes to the surface.

You wonder who you can see sober, or in the afternoon, or not at 1am in the bar. Who remains after the party is done? It can be very isolating. Another big part of it that was stressful for me was driving back past all the places that triggered every memory, all the memories that built up to the moment when I decided this absolutely can’t happen anymore.

“For me, drinking was so second nature. I’d get back into town after being gone for months and feel totally mentally unstable, and my first comfort

move was to go to the bar. It’s a very eye-opening process to learn life over again without drinking. ‘All I do’ is a diary of me navigating life in that way but in the same city and in the same house - sometimes I think it would have been easier if I’d just moved!”

As someone who makes a living through being so creatively honest, it’s important for Alicia to continue to be open in her music, particularly in a society that still tends to romanticise alcohol and substance abuse in music.

“It’s a dangerous thought process to perpetuate in our society that people need that in order to make good art.

It all feeds back into mental health: I had a voice in my head that was so paranoid that nothing I made would be good anymore. A lot of what I wrote came from the guilt and shame that I would have from drinking; drinking fed into my depression times a million.

I feel like everything I do now with writing is so much better, and the process is so much more enjoyable now that I’m tuned in.”

Each Bully album cycle feels like we find Alicia working through a new stage of metamorphosis in her life. As well as dealing with grief and sobriety, she explains that she has been learning to live with bad ADHD that was untreated for a long time. “I’m still learning about the relationship of that and the emotional regulation of the things I struggled with,” she pauses before adding with a shrug: “I guess I really do lay it all out on the table, but why not!

“I feel really good right now. There are a lot of things I still have to work on and remind myself of - the medication stuff was so trial and error for so long, but I feel like I’m at a good place with all of it.” ■ Bully’s album ‘Lucky For You’ is out 2nd June.

Upset 39

THE

FOUNDATIONS OF

DEC -AY HE LAST TIME WE SAW BRIGHTON ROCK TRIO TIGERCUB, the band looked inward to assess mental health through a colourful and distorted lens that offered quaking drops, dynamic sounds and an overarching melancholy on their second full-length, 'As Blue As Indigo'. Looking at their new project, 'The Perfume Of Decay', the artwork alone clues us in that things are going to be a little different this time around.

"I always like to pivot a bit with each release, offer something a bit different; a contrast to anything we've done before," Jamie Hall shares, and the opening riffs of the record quickly establish the weight of sounds on the table. "This is our black album. The last record was all about colour, but this is

40 Upset

our goth, Robert Smith make-up, heavy metal record."

Where they might have previously danced around those deft tones for the purposes of dynamics, thematic or otherwise, these 12 tracks are extremely focused on causing overwhelming, joyous chaos. Amidst the darkness, a silver lining is hidden in plain sight; the title itself was inspired by 2021 drama film Memoria, which hit an immediate chord with the frontman. "As I get older, I'm better able to process and deal with problems, and 'Perfume of Decay' represents that quite nicely. It's an oxymoronic title, but that's true of getting older in general – there's the nightmarish worries of ageing, but also the optimism of gaining a lot more tools to deal with things."

TIGERCUB are back!

Back!! Back!!! But this time, things are a little more... dramatic.

Words: Finlay Holden. Photos: Andreia Lamos.

Upset 41

If it wasn't immediately obvious from these details, Tigercub are an outfit that revel in injecting immense care and attention into the depths of their output, and they're getting real crafty with the curation of experiences for their listeners. "I love creating a whole world around a record; it can transform your entire mood, feelings, outlook on the world; that's what a great record does for me," Jamie explains. "You have 40 minutes of the listener's attention; how do you guide them around, and what can you show them on that journey?"

The most recent journey the band shared was much centred on Jamie's perspective as he offered reflections on his war with depression. However, following a period of internal strife, 'The Perfume of Decay' is a glorious comeback for Tigercub as they reunite and revive their foundational intentions.

As Jamie recalls, "the circumstances around the last record were stressful, tense, pensive… It was insane; it felt like we were all on Jerry Springer. With Covid being the last of our problems, there was so much working against us. For me, Jimi [Wheelwright, bass] and James [Allix, drums], it felt like we had to tread back over the last ten years of our relationship to recapture who we are as a band."

As well as rediscovering their roots, there's been a lot of new activity for the group; heading off to tour America for the first time in 2022 reignited the fires of ambition at a time when Tigercub were in desperate need of it. After being signed

by Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard, they were sent across the pond to perform alongside some sonic heavyweights.

"We already set out to forge a heavier sound, but playing our show to a metal stoner crowd in Nebraska, where there are people just holding their middle fingers up at you for the whole set, made us feel like the Coldplay of the US rock scene. At the same time, we're a novelty special from England over there, and it's really working for us. It made us feel confident, ambitious, and fearless."

Jamie continues: "Driving through Arizona, Texas, up through Oregon, Washington state, into Canada – we really saw just how big the world is. That really impacted the scope and size that we've tried to achieve – we want this record to sound massive."

With newfound punk influences diligently noted, there was still a desire to experiment without becoming too indulgent; try new things, but not abandon their core values. "It's more about settling into a vibe than it is about finding a Billboard hook," Jamie offers, 42 Upset

THIS IS OUR GOTH, ROBERT SMITH MAKE-UP, HEAVY METAL RECORD"

JAMIE HALL

"although those things can sit really nicely together on an album. I love a quick and punchy pop tune, but there are tracks here which take a bit longer to reach the exclamation point. We had enough room to take breather, expand and mediate on our ideas and motifs."

Within the unseen spaces, Tigercub took the opportunity to play around – from tape machine messages, metal chains from B&Q, beer kegs and baseball bats ("because we love Slipknot"), there's a lot to be expressed in even the most dormant of moments. "The main thing is that I produced the record," Jamie expresses. "We could really explore different sonic techniques that we've never been able to try before. I've been in the room with enough talented producers and engineers now to understand how to get the best out of everything you've got."

For a band – and indeed, a generation – that seems afraid to grow up, Tigercub are expertly realising the obscured potential of their work and finding new ways to keep things exciting for themselves and the listeners. "We're a late bloomer band for sure," the selfaware creative smirks. "With every record, we leave the door ajar for where we might go in the future, but, for now, 'Perfume of Decay' feels like the best version of Tigercub. It feels complete and delivers the best versions of ideas that we tried before, like a true third album should."

Hardly adolescent but still gaining tracking at an exponential rate, the band reveal that "it's a constant conversation: how do we grow without losing who we are?" This record itself seems a great answer to that difficult question.

'The Perfume of Decay' is very much an album designed about and in servitude of the night-time hours, dedicated to the times Jamie has laid in bed unable to reach unconsciousness.

"The night is when my mind starts to

activate, and I ruminate on everything.

These snapshots start to appear when you're finally alone with your thoughts – it can be claustrophobic, all these thoughts you have can't be actioned, and you have no control. You're safe in this restful place of sanctity, but it can be a claustrophobic space as well where your brain is trapped in this flesh cage."

In what could be considered the Taylor Swift 'Midnights' of UK alt-rock, twelve songs express feelings noticed only on the fringes of darkness, as your thoughts pour out in sequence while you stare around a room, unable to flutter off just yet. Similarly, the aforementioned chart-topper, this more grungy approach focuses internally and features more than glimpses of self-deprecation.

However, there is a positive side once again. While 'As Blue As Indigo' examined Jamie's lowest moments, 'The Perfume of Decay' is using the power of music to actually work through them. "Our third record is about expressing sadness and depression but having more control over our own lives and being able to offer solutions," he elaborates. "It's not nihilistic or closed off; it sees that there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel. Dawn will come after the dark. I can detail that optimism now only because that's how I feel in my life."

A generous record in every meaning of the word, fans are bound to be thrilled at the volume of ludicrously huge riffs and sharply honed melodies throughout.

"It's more direct," Jamie concludes. "You can call that generous, but that could imply that we were holding back before – I think that our skillset is improved and getting more refined. It's up to the listener to decide if we've achieved that."

Whatever your leanings may be, "mascara and ghoulish face paint are prerequisites when listening to this record," he gleefully declares. ■ Tigercub's album 'The Perfume Of Decay' is out 2nd June.

Upset 43

HARD 44 Upset

TIMES THE USED are embracing the darkness on their new album 'Toxic Positivity'.

Words: Steven Lotfin. Photos: Dayna Gilmore.

Upset 45

I HAD NOTHING INSIDE TO GIVE HOPE TO THE RECORD. IT WAS VERY DARK, VERY BRUTAL"

B E R T M C C R AC K E N

N THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY, post the release of 2020's 'Heartwork', The Used found the positivity they'd funnelled throughout its framework had vanished. Released in the early days of the pandemic, although written before the world shut down, its journey into fruition became fraught by the outbreak and played into the creation of its follow-up.

"There was an amazingly positive vibe during 'Heartwork' that just simply couldn't exist while making 'Toxic Positivity'," vocalist Bert McCracken starts. "I think that we were all in the best place we'd ever been in. We'd just come off an amazing tour; everybody was in the best shape of their lives and never tighter as a band, and then, boom! February 2020."

'Toxic Positivity' is The Used once again back to their most vulnerable and scathing.

And in case there were any doubts, the two standalone singles they issued both come, 46 Upset

erm, spikily named: 'Fuck You' and 'People Are Vomit'.

It would seem The Used have had enough. Coming first, the record's title - a play on toxic masculinity as well as a spear aimed at the world at large - is a succinct thesis for The Used's return: "We knew where we're at, and we knew what kind of music might come of it."

Recorded in two separate sessions, Bert mentions, "This record feels like a progression through the pandemic and coming out the other side.

I'm very open about my depression and anxiety, and I think that a lot of people were struggling with the same thing during the pandemic. And coming out of the pandemic, we were thinking that we were going to feel a lot different than we did, and maybe being a little bit disappointed by how it went down."

A caustic reaction, 'Toxic Positivity' is an unrelenting tour de force through Bert's struggles. Noting it was "100% a reaction to where we were", the process of getting a Used record together has always been "about capturing that moment where you're

at in your life." And if this particular scene feels a bit harsh, then that's because it was a particularly brutal time that, even in isolated, positive pockets, was beyond abnormal.

"I had nothing inside to give hope to the record. It was very dark, very brutal," Bert admits. "Coming off of all sorts of drugs, going on all sorts of drugs, just a complete rearrangement of my life, something I've always dealt with is anxiety and depression, but never to a debilitating extent."

Though, much like the eventual loosening of preventative measures, the back half of 'Toxic Positivity' does eventually relent, sunlight peaking through its threatening clouds. "The record is so void of positive feelings and emotions that it seemed very appropriate," mentions Bert. "[But] I think that towards the end of the record, you kind of get this feeling of coming out alive and that there is hope."

Not initially by design, this glimpse into the figurative other side was "not an

intentional move to try to make some positive songs.

But after two sessions and 20-something songs written, I was sick and tired of writing negative songs. I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed a little hope and a little inspiration."

It's been two decades since The Used first came into the alt world. In that time, they've been consistent miners of Bert's deepest and darkest thoughts, a move that has seen them garner diehard fans the globe over. Sure, emo may have once been seen as a phase, but these feelings are timeless. "We've always been a band able to capture the moment seems very dramatic of The Used and what makes us probably emo," reckons Bert. "But at the same time, we grow, and we learn so much, especially after twenty-plus years of being in this band and performing, and knowing that that connection with the crowd is so much more intense and special than could be put into words."

They've been around long enough now for their original fans to be bringing their children to shows. This fact exists not just as proof of The Used's draw, but the deeply personal meaning they offer to those who found them. "It's pretty incredible to see people

we've seen for 20 years, and they're bringing their kids out to shows now," he smiles.

"Seeing this full, generational enjoyment of music from the heart feels good."

Having been doing it for so long now, rooting around in his honesty, into all the crowded shelves of pain and reckoning is second nature.

Though as for if this makes him any wiser, he's not sure.

"I wouldn't say wiser, I would say just more in tune with the way to open myself up for a record." There's certainly a case for Bert having the courage to face up to these inner workings and to present them in such a spicy way, particularly since he's the first to admit there's never really been any form of restriction. "It's always been as deep as we want to take it.

There's never really been any limitations to the emotional side of the music."

Toting the same ideology for twenty years is impressive, particularly when it's rooted in sincerity. "It feels nice to be able to say that I've been honest throughout my entire musical career," Bert says.

"Some of my favourite poets, and some of my favourite writers, seem like they're writing in the moment for them, and they can only be true to where they're at in that

moment. I have no regrets about getting to the deeper, darker parts of my inner being. I think it's what makes The Used very special."

The whole process comes naturally. When The Used enter a studio, they know they're there to embrace the vicious and the vitriol and tune it into something that might just make a difference.

"We have a rhythm now; we know what it takes to make a song, and we can usually do it in a day." They trust their instincts; after all, this is a band with enough albums under their belt to prove so.

"We don't have to sit back and reflect so much about what needs to be changed or what can be fixed. It all spills out of us. So yeah, in a way, it's a totally different experience than it was in the beginning.

I think that we're better songwriters now."

Their method of operating was born from the simple idea of "[learning] from our mistakes and knowing that a crash and burn is an opportunity to learn." While for most this can be a challenge, it's here Bert knows his job is to not only provide that understanding but to use his

outlet to inform others on how he reached that point, which is the crux of 'Toxic Positivity''s core. "It's very tricky to face a fear. But I think that once you do get a different perspective." He likens it to embracing another fear of his.

"But when I have big spiders crawling on me, I'll feel a little bit different!" He laughs.

Reflecting on the 'Toxic Positivity' journey now, Bert summarises: "I think that we live, we learn; from the darkest moments, especially. And being back out on the road, being back with my friends, gives a new perspective on the past three years and what it really means."

While The Used are back to what they do best - toting effacing emo truths - some things never change. "Putting out a record is always scary," Bert admits. "It's just as scary as it was the first time exposing stuff like that.

Sometimes it doesn't feel that great. But in the end, you get the feedback, and you feel the love, and you see the people singing along, so it all makes sense." ■ The Used's album 'Toxic Positivity' is out 19th May.

Upset 47

Sleep Token

TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN ★★★★★

→ With half the album already drip-fed before its

48 Upset

release, it would be fair to assume there isn't much mystery left to uncover on 'Take Me Back To Eden'.

Thankfully, you'd be wrong.

This album pulls no punches. It revels in its mercuriality, wildly swinging from the lightest touches into the heaviest of blows.

Restless and relentless, Sleep Token punctuate those skyscraper moments with the most audacious

twists towards garage, jazz, or even the odd trap beat, all without losing their own authenticity. At over an hour long, it keeps the album fizzing with unpredictability and possibility.

This is the most inventive metal has sounded in a long time. Sleep Token have been regularly touted as the future of the genre. On 'Take Me Back To Eden', the future is now. Alexander Bradley

Dream Wife

SOCIAL LUBRICATION

★★★★

→ As wonderfully unapologetic as ever, Dream Wife return with an album that promotes female empowerment and tackles norms throughout both society and genre. Politicallycharged chants are scattered throughout fun, playful licks as vocalist Rakel Mjöll delivers a high-octane,

RATED

same impact and meaning.

Lambrini Girls have made it look easy here with a series of searing and biting feral punk tracks that hit like a nuclear shockwave.

With a flaming turd for artwork and song titles like 'Help Me I'm Gay', it would be an easy (but foolish) mistake for the uninitiated to dismiss the Brighton band as anything but a serious force. From the opening rumble of 'Boys In The Band', a track that acts live as a lightning rod for the rightfully pissedoff survivors of abuse in local music scenes around the country, that misconception is trampled underfoot. Punching through the speakers like IDLES at their most furious, it carries the added weight and power that only comes from living a shared experience on the scene.

'You're Welcome' is a breathless race through songs about terfs, love bombing, toxic lads and queer culture. Equal parts withering putdowns and a wickedly funny sense of humour, it rattles along in a way that manages to be as much about the pure chaos as it is uncompromising in its look at the shitstorm of modern life. An exciting and vital new force in punk music has arrived here. Jamie MacMillan melt-your-face-off sermon.

'Social Lubrication' delivers the live experience straight to your ears as tracks like 'Who Do You Wanna Be' and 'Hot (Don't Date a Musician)' ooze with energy and angst. There's nothing subtle here; it brings all the drama you'd expect from a Dream Wife record. Melissa Darragh

Hot Mulligan

WHY WOULD I WATCH

★★★★

→ Despite being titled

'Why Would I Watch', Hot Mully have an album that demands attention. The alchemy of their technical prowess, raw emotions and killer hooks has found a balance and the legs to last an entire album this time around.

Charming and upbeat 'Shouldn't Have a Leg Hole But I Do' hits the ground running, and from there, the good times and zany titles roll on.

There are pop flourishes that expertly colour their anthems of angst, but it only takes an acoustic guitar and some mighty fine whistling to achieve complete devastation on 'Betty'. As the album begins to wind down, Hot Mulligan find a way to ramp up with a trio of tracks packed

with ambition that feel deserving of the biggest stages. With this record, they've raised the bar for the newest generation of emo bands. Alexander Bradley

Tigercub

THE PERFUME OF DECAY

★★★★

Lambrini Girls

YOU'RE WELCOME EP

★★★★★

→ It's one thing to build a reputation for putting on unmissable chaotic and raucous live shows; it's another to channel it onto a record that hits with the

→ Supersonic bass bleeds from the speakers. The room trembles from the vibration. Tigercub have arrived.

Presenting dramatic hooks with pulse-like precision, 'The Perfume of Decay' sees Jamie Hall's whispering intonation juxtapose shrieking distortion and beefy basslines - it may be gentle, but it sure is deadly. That is with the exception of 'Until I Forget', a sensory

overload of fuzzy guitars partnered with unexpected but wellplaced screams. There's enough static to make your hair stand on end.

Yet, alongside all the fuzz and feedback, there are also instances of cleaner, calmer sounds - like the acoustic 'We're a Long Time Gone', whose gentle sentiment is reminiscent of sleepless summer nights.

Effortlessly cool, 'The Perfume of Decay' is dynamic, swaggering rock'n'roll, destined to be blasted with windows down with abandon.

Kelsey McClure

The Used

TOXIC POSITIVITY

★★★★

→ Toxic Positivity: a mindset in which positive thinking takes precedence over any real negative emotions, smothering the sadness without actually ever acknowledging it. In an online world, this mindset has become increasingly more prevalent, with false assurances and affirmations taking the place of genuine empathy.

The Used tackle this issue head-on, using their signature style of clever, tongue-in-cheek lyrics to reject this mentality and give the cold hard truth instead.

"I'm worse than I've ever been", sings Bert McCracken, starting the record on a not-sopositive note. Backed by a gritty bassline and blistering vocals, it's an explosive opener. Pulling inspiration from across the spectrum, the band explore new avenues while their signature sound stays prevalent throughout. From desperation to resignation, 'Toxic Positivity' is a blunt and bold exploration of mental health. The Used show no signs of fatigue, producing a confident and cathartic ninth album.

Kelsey McClure

Upset 49

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cheated Hearts

ALEX LAHEY

I consider myself so lucky that I was a teenager at a time when Karen O was my modern punk rock hero. This song is from the 'Show Your Bones' record, which is my favourite YYYs album. I wrote "I think that I'm bigger than the sound" on my bookcase in permanent marker when I was 14. It's still at my mum's house.

They did an all-ages show in Melbourne at The Palace in St Kilda as part of their State Of Emergency album run, and it blew my 14-year-old mind. I can still recall the brand-new feeling of the kick drum in my chest.

Michelle Branch

Rooney

This was the first song I ever learned on guitar when I was 13 years old. The start of a never-ending journey with the instrument. I remember getting the chord sheet from ultimate-guitar.com. I think there are a few of us out there that owe our careers to that website. This song and the 'Spirit Room' album is the blueprint for so much music that's coming out today - a timeless classic.

Some people had older siblings to show them new music - I had music supervisor Alex Patsavas and The OC. The music from the TV show The OC was revolutionary at the time and deeply shaped my own tastes.

Putting Rooney in here as a representative for all the bands that were showcased throughout the course of the show, but this whole self-titled record absolutely rips.

Everywhere

The Living End Roll On

The Living End are one of the greatest rock bands to ever come out of Australia, and were my first ever "real" gig.

I'm Shakin'

The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra Greetings and Salutations

EVERYONE HAS THOSE FORMATIVE BANDS AND TRACKS THAT FIRST GOT THEM INTO MUSIC AND HELPED SHAPE THEIR VERY BEING. THIS MONTH, ALEX LAHEY TAKES US THROUGH SOME OF THE SONGS THAT MEANT THE MOST TO HER DURING HER TEENAGE YEARS.

I was very passionately involved in my school's big band as a teenager, so I feel like there needs to be a lil shout out to ~jazz~ in this list. I specifically chose this tune because it's not your usual meat and potatoes jazz standard. It's a big band chart that, dare I say, kinda rocks.

CBGB up on my bedroom wall for at least a decade. What I love about the Ramones and this song specifically is how despite being a stalwart of the two-minute, three-chord punk genre, they have so much emotion and melody in their songs, especially in their later albums.

Ramones

Big Brother & The Holding Company

Bonzo Goes To Bitburg

The Ramones are one of my favourite bands of all time, and I had their iconic poster of them posing in front of

Piece Of My Heart

I remember the day my mum showed me this song when I was 14 years old, and Janis's voice floored me, as it had so many people before teen me came along. I think as you get older, those moments of experiencing someone doing something that you can only describe as "magic" become fewer and fewer. This recording did just that to me and set the benchmark for the kick-in-the-guts feeling of hearing something truly otherworldly.

Missy Higgins Steer

Missy Higgins is a seminal artist for so many songwriters coming out of Australia.

Despite still being a young person herself, Missy has already cemented an enduring legacy in Australian music history. I used to cover this song with my first-ever band when I was 15 years old, and the chord shapes I learned from this song are still the first chords I play whenever I pick up a guitar.

Alex Lahey's album 'The Answer Is Always Yes' is out 19th May.

50 Upset

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